Vespertilio
by Svelte Rose
Summary: Watchtower’s been kidnapped. Batman works with the Justice League for the first time. Chlollie with a hint of Chruce.
1. Prologue

**Title**: Vespertilio  
**Chapter**: Prologue  
**Author**: Svelte Rose  
**Rated**: PG-13  
**Summary**: Watchtower's been kidnapped. Batman works with the Justice League for the first time.  
**Pairing**: Eventual Oliver/Chloe. Maybe a hint of Bruce/Chloe?

I've been meaning to write Chlollie. This is my first. Hope you enjoy! Let me know what you guys think. ;]

xxxxx

Lucius Fox was not easily startled. That was the nature of his _job_. So when the impish voice sounded through his blue-tooth without a single warning, he jerked in his seat and immediately slammed his foot on the brakes. He half expected someone to hit him. Gotham highways were notorious for their congestion.

"Don't worry about them," the voice in his headset answered the unasked question, "it took a bit of crafty maneuvering, some red-lights, and easy hacking – who knew that many cars in Gotham were computerized? - but I managed."

_Managed what?_ Lucius wanted to ask.

"I know you don't pick up calls from 'restricted' callers. Definitely not unidentified numbers and I needed to get your attention right away so I figured this was my best option. Of course, the entire point of me doing this would have been pointless if you'd gotten into an accident so…" she seemed to have realized she was rambling and tapered off.

He pulled his foot off the break and started driving again, albeit slower this time. A glance up in his rearview mirror showed the many headlights in the distance had also just started to move.

"Anyway, now that you know I'm here, let's get down to business. Can you pull off to the side of the road?"

He didn't answer and instead continued driving.

"Okay," she drawled, "that's a no. Well, you have no good reason to trust me."

But he was curious. It was the only reason he hadn't hung up yet.

"It's about Mr. Wayne, the Winged Vigilante, _Batman_ – whatever it is that Gotham call him nowadays."

This time, he swerved off the road and set his car into park. "Who are you?" he asked, voice with a touch of bewilderment.

"Listen, there's really no time to talk. I need you to do this quick for me or we're going to find ourselves minus one superhero." The friendly speaker with a tendency to ramble quickly turned sharp and militant.

Lucius deliberated for what may have seemed like minutes but in reality, it was a couple of seconds.

"I'm listening."

xxxxx

There was a hiss and a grunt. Alfred dropped a bloody cotton swab into the wastebasket.

Lucius placed the (unfortunately) slim manila folder in front of the injured man who winced again. It was followed by another bloody cotton swab.

"This is it?" he asked.

The corners of Lucius' lips quirked up in a half-smile. "I tried to track her down while she was linked with you but every time I brought a firewall down, two more returned in its place."

"Elaborate system."

"No. I was able to take that down. _This_ was all manual." Lucius placed a flash drive on top of the folder.

"What are you saying?"

"How much do you remember from your Excelsior days?"

xxxxx

Oliver shrugged on a t-shirt, aching muscles protesting. Getting kicked in the ribs had not been one of his finest moments and Chloe's fingers jabbing them afterwards when the team reconvened in the clock tower hadn't made them any better.

His fingers fumbled around for his water glass and found his compound bow instead. In a single beat, he had the weapon cocked and pointed at the intruder.

_What the hell, he was in a __**penthouse**__ for Chrissakes._

The black cowl should have frightened him like it would have any other but considering he spent the better part of his youth sharing a dorm with the man, he blew out a breath of exasperation instead and set the weapon back down on the table. "You couldn't just knock, Bruce?"

"This was easier."

_How?_ Oliver wondered. He arched an eyebrow and took a swig from his glass. "Well, since it can't be Justice League business -," a reference to Bruce's refusal of Oliver's invitation –, "what brings you to Metropolis?" He didn't really care. He was sore. And tired. Really, couldn't this have waited?

Batman pulled off his mask and shut off the voice distorter at his neck. "It _is_ about your little band of merry men."

Oliver glared.

Bruce placed his Blackberry on the countertop. He pressed a button looked expectantly at Oliver. There was a mess of static before a very clear and _familiar_ voice sounded through.

_"So listen."_ It was a demand, an order, and definitely not a request.

Oliver snorted.

_"You can't defuse the bomb."_

"Who is this?"

"Well, you _**can**__ but you might end up detonating it. Anyway,"_ the voice was chirpy.

_"What do you mean?"_

"There's a total of three bombs in that building but because two are equipped on the same radio wavelength as the hospital staff walkies, they won't show up, no matter how sophisticated your bomb detectors may be."

"If it doesn't show up on any detectors, how did you find them?"

"I have my ways –,"

Oliver snorted again.

_" – but seriously, we don't have much time left. If you want these people to live – yourself included – you're going to have to do exactly as I say."_

Bruce stopped the audio feed and crossed his arms. "She tracked down my employee by hacking his blue-tooth, several cars, Gotham's highway system in order to contact me."

"Did it work?" Oliver prompted.

"Two of them were defused. The third one was accidentally set off mid-transfer taking out a good chunk of the highway with it."

"Bet she didn't expect that one." He muttered under his breath.

Bruce leaned forward. "Nonetheless, she was well-prepared. The fire trucks and ambulance had already been dispatched thirty minutes prior and the traffic system had been hacked, causing a mix-up in an intersection. Traffic's all plugged up and it probably won't clear for a good few hours,"

"I hear a but coming."

"The intersection led straight to the highway where the caravan carrying the bomb exploded."

Oliver cleared his throat. "What does this have to do with the Justice League?"

Bruce pressed a sequence of buttons.

_"Batman! Do you copy? I need an audible!"_

Oliver could hear sirens faintly in the background and something crunching.

_"Still here."_

"Oh, thank god." The relief was evident in her voice. _"Don't make me worry like that again,"_ she chastised. _"Are you okay?"_

Silence.

_"Are you __**okay**__?"_

"Yes."

Typical Bruce Wayne-fashion.

There was a loud crackle.

_"What was that?"_

"Oh crap! I thought I put that on mute." Sounds of someone fumbling through papers, a chair being shoved back, and glass shattering on the floor – all before another voice could be heard.

This one was much more faint than the two primary speakers but _damn_, he had a distinct voice.

_"Arrow to Tower. Arrow to Tower. Do you copy?"_

Oliver stifled a groan.

_"Yes, I'm here!"_ Then some more shuffling. _"Got it!"_ There was a click. _"Please, please, PLEASE tell me you didn't hear anything."_

Bruce shut it off before his answer could be heard. He arched an eyebrow at the blond billionaire complete with a pointed look. "I know it's not in your nature to accept 'no' as an answer. But this is going a bit far, don't you think?"

Oliver ran a hand down his face, stopping at the mouth.

"I work by myself. I thought I made this very clear the first time around." Bruce was most definitely angry now. "Forcing one of your people on me, hacking Gotham's traffic system, sending out false emergency calls –," he stopped, jaw clenched, eyes narrowed at Oliver. "Are you laughing at me, Queen?"

The blond's hand dropped and he held it up in a mock surrender, a wide grin on his face. "I had nothing to do with this."

A muscle in his jaw ticked.

Oliver sighed and grabbed his keys off the table. "Come on. There's somebody you should meet."

xxxxx

Impulse had one finger on the phone just as two hooks came flying through the broken window. Cyborg was already on the floor, plugged into one of the decimated computers. Impulse wasn't as tech-saavy as Watchtower or Cyborg but even he knew that they wouldn't get much (if anything) from the totaled systems.

"What the hell happened here?" Green Arrow asked as he leapt down from his wire.

Impulse didn't answer. His eyes widened as the winged man that followed, landed. Dark eyes shadowed by a black cowl quickly took in the room's destruction. He would have normally been amazed (and a small part of him still was) but as it was, "you guys have good timing."

There was a brush of air and Clark stood before them. The only one in the room not in his uniform, he seemed extremely out of place. "Where's Chloe?"

Aquaman shut off his phone. He'd been the one who had called Clark.

"You mean you don't know?" Green Arrow's jaw clenched as he ripped off his sunglasses. "What about Lois?"

"She was with me when AC called." Concern lined Clark's eyes. "What's going on?" He glanced suspiciously at the new addition.

"If Watchtower's not with you…" Aquaman started.

Cyborg suddenly stood up with a grim look. "You guys need to see this."


	2. Chapter 1

**Title**: Vespertilio  
**Chapter**: Chapter 1  
**Author**: Svelte Rose  
**Rated**: PG-13  
**Summary**: Watchtower's been kidnapped. Batman works with the Justice League for the first time.  
**Pairing**: Eventual Oliver/Chloe. Maybe a hint of Bruce/Chloe?

**Xxxxx**

_She was going to kill Tess Mercer._ Chloe lifted her heeled foot from the muddy pool she'd stepped in as quietly as she could. The attempt was unsuccessful. Her foot came away with a wet 'squick' and her shoe fell right back in with a 'plop.' She plucked the shoe from the puddle and stuck it back on, ignoring the squishy wet dirt. Diving into the bushes, she held her breath. A few seconds later, three kids, two girls and one boy, walked on by. The boy swore under his breath. The girl shushed him, straining her ears.

Chloe bit her tongue to keep from screaming Clark's name. She didn't even know if he'd hear. What she did know, however, was that the first two times she got away and screamed Clark's pseudonym, they'd found her immediately. While they didn't have Clark's super-speed, one of Tess' hired guns definitely had his super-sensitive hearing.

She swallowed nervously.

The trio turned towards her hiding spot. One of the girls sported a very satisfied grin and the other two looked positively bloodthirsty.

**Xxxxx**

Oliver glared at his cell phone. Katherine, the temp his company hired a month ago after his last secretary stormed off in a huff, flashed a pretty smile, setting his coffee cup down on the glass surface. He didn't even look up. Eyes seemed to bore holes into the expensive, hi-tech gadget before he finally cleared his throat.

"What's the rest of my schedule for today?"

Katherine licked her lips nervously. "You've got a board meeting at 2pm, a presentation by the financial planning committee at 4, a conference call at 5…"

He waved his hand and she stopped. "That's all." It was dismissive.

Katherine opened and closed her mouth several times before she finally snapped it shut and nodded. "Right."

"You can leave."

When the door shut behind her, she frowned and plopped down in her chair. Pouting, she picked up the phone and jabbed at the keys.

**Xxxxx**

The car drove by, kicking up dust, dirt, and stones. The passenger, a girl no older than fifteen had watched with a sort of unfazed expression as they passed the bedraggled traveler. Living in Gotham, they were used to sights like that.

Chloe didn't pay them any mind either. She was pretty sure she was walking straight into The Narrows, Gotham's slums. How she got there was an entirely different question. She had streaks of grime, sweat, and brown spots of dried blood littering the lab coat she stole. Both her heels were broken (one had broken off by itself so she had to snap the other one off), her arm was hanging at an awkward angle, and she was pretty sure she twisted her ankle. She was a gimp.

She looked awful. It was normal for The Narrows but still awful, nonetheless.

Three weeks since she'd been kidnapped and it had taken a midnight shift change, slight of hand, and impeccable hand-eye coordination before she'd been able to stab one of her guards with a tranquilizer dart.

Chloe crossed her arms. At least her healing powers were still with her. She had the scars from the fat needles they'd continuously jabbed her with to prove it. What should have taken several days to scab over and heal took a matter of hours for her. In retrospect, it didn't prove the least bit helpful. When the people working on her discovered the ability, they'd only increased the testings.

Clearly, Project 33.1 was still very much _alive._

She grunted and winced. Her toe had unwittingly kicked up a rock. Now, her foot just hurt _that_ much more, her arm was sore as all hell, she smelled like bovine dump, and she was hungry. Her stomach growled that deep rumbling pitch, threatening to push her into eating something - probably something not meant to be eaten - if she didn't find her own sustenance soon.

Wrapping the coat tighter around herself, Chloe stepped off the road and into the bushes. After all of those hours staring and studying the urban schematics of this city, she hoped she remembered enough to get to where she had in mind without being the latest Gotham victim.

**Xxxxx**

"I promise to fix your gate in the morning."

Alfred blinked, crossbow in hand pointed steadily at their midnight visitor. Guns weren't allowed in the estate and since he wasn't as handy with the nightstick as the other inhabitant was, this was his choice of weaponry.

She clutched her shoulder and seemed to be favoring her left foot. Her face was covered with scratches and dirt. In fact, there wasn't a part of her that wasn't covered with something…earthy.

Once his eyes separated the girl from the nature that covered her skin, clothes, and hair, he dropped the weapon, eyes wide with surprise. "What about the gate?"

She opened her mouth but immediately closed it again, making a swirly-motion with her finger. He wasn't sure how that could have told him anything. Regardless, the worry that came with finally seeing the face they'd been searching for the past three weeks took precedence. Alert eyes assessed her physical shape. Before he could welcome her in, another figure stepped out from the shadows. Body coiled and ready to spring, there was no nightstick, batarang, nothing. Bruce Wayne was deadly enough with his hands alone.

As soon as he took note of Alfred's expression, he stepped back. Followed by the imminent collapse of their night-time visitor, Bruce hurried to the lithe figure's side and caught her in his arms before she split her head open on the marble steps. Through the knots of blonde hair and dirt on her face, he came to the same conclusion Alfred had come to seconds prior.

"Master Wayne, let me take care of Miss Sullivan." Alfred pried her from the young man's arms, hurrying inside.

Bruce nodded. "I'll call Queen."

**Xxxxx**

Even through the haze of a faint-turned-medically induced sleep, she could tell Clark and Oliver were arguing. The door was partially open and she could see Oliver glaring stone-cold at Clark. Farm versus city; the differences between them were vast. Clark dealt with his anger more directly while Oliver had a tendency to wait quietly and go straight for the jugular at the right moment.

"It's a wonder they can even work on the same team." A smooth baritone sounded from her right.

Chloe turned her head and blinked sleepily at the man. "I'm used to it by now." Her voice was raspy and only half the words had come out but he understood it just fine. _Damn._ Water would be nice right now.

"They've been going at it for about an hour now." As if reading her mind, he produced a glass of water whilst checking his wristwatch at the same time.

No surprise there. Clark really liked rehashing the same things over and over. She rolled her eyes.

Smiling congenially, he leaned forward and set the book he'd been reading on the bedside table. "We've never been introduced - " _smirk_, " - not formally anyway. I'm Bruce Wayne." There was a knowing look in his eyes.

Chloe gave an apologetic grin. "Hi."

"Here." He held a glass of water up to her lips and she sipped generously. She pushed the glass away and wiped her lips. He placed it back on the nightstand before leaning in again. "Better?"

Chloe nodded, glancing surreptitiously at the door where Oliver now had his hand up, finger jabbing in the air at Clark, finally shooting remarks of his own.

"They'll be fine." He waved nonchalantly at them. "I think I'm suppose to tell them that you're up but eh," he shrugged, "I sort of like having the attention of a beautiful woman all to myself. Plus, I don't think either of them realize how absolutely ridiculous they look in their pajamas."

Chloe glanced over. Sure enough, both were still in their sleepwear. Atleast Oliver had thrown on a pair of wrinkled jeans. Clark still sported his flannel robe. _They must have rushed right over._ She arched an eyebrow at him. "Please."

Bruce only flashed his most charismatic grin. "If I had known you were part of the whole 'joining the JL'-package, I would've signed right up."

Chloe threw him a look of disbelief.

"Great work on the Riddler-bombs by the way." He had that knowing look again. This time, there was a bit of chastising sprinkled in.

Before she could open her mouth and respond, Clark's super-sensitive hearing had finally kicked in and he threw open the door without minding his strength any. Oliver snuck past him and crossed the wide room quicker than normal. Hands covered her face, hair, and eyes checked the monitors Dr. Hamilton had set up in the Wayne Manor. His worry-lined features seemed to lighten with relief after a while. He shot a glare at Bruce before leaning down and pressing a kiss on her forehead. "Welcome back, Sidekick."

Clark stayed at the doorway. "Hey."

Chloe gave him an arched look. "I promise I won't bite."

He hesitated and scratched his head nervously. "It's not that."

Confused, she looked to Oliver and Bruce for answers.

Oliver cleared his throat. "Turns out you're something like a walking piece of kryptonite. So…"

_Ah. That made sense. No wonder she spent most of her time in captivity sitting next to a large, glowing, green rock._Another one-over and she noticed the sheen of sweat covering her best friend's upper lip. Pursing her lips, she made a shoo-ing motion with her arm. "Keep away, you."

**Xxxxx**

"You're going to let her stay in Gotham?" Clark's hands were on his hips as he watched Oliver sift through the items they had been able to salvage.

Grinding his teeth, the blond jerked on his heel. "Alright, _you_ convince her to come back. _You_ can explain to Lois why you can't visit her cousin even though the two of you are _supposedly_ best friends. You can go into missions sans Watchtower until we get this mess -," his arms swung, motioning to the destroyed room, " – cleaned up."

Clark opened his mouth to say something and then closed it again. "Well, do you trust him?"

Oliver turned around and continued packing. Clark wouldn't like his answer. He trusted Batman. He _did not_ trust Bruce Wayne. "You know Chloe, once she sets her mind to something, it's impossible to convince her otherwise."

"What's he having her do while she's there?"

"Strengthening his security system until we figure out what happened. She's allowed to use them for the time being and continue being Watchtower for us. Once the parts Cyborg ordered comes in, she can return to the clock tower. By then, hopefully you guys can stand in the same room together."

_Why Bruce Wayne of Wayne Industries - parent company of WayneTech, a leader in world's technological industry - would need help when he could have easily asked someone or dealt with the issue himself was the __**exact**__ reason he didn't trust the smarmy bastard._

Though, Chloe _was_ the best.

But _he_ didn't know that. Or he shouldn't.

Oliver shoved another wire into the bag.

_Trust her to hack a seemingly impenetrable system._ He was more pissed that she had been helping Batman at the same time they were on a mission when he only hired her for JL-stuff. There was no JL _and_ Batman. It was JL _only_.

_The only reason he'd even asked his old schoolmate was because he'd been outvoted by the JL._ If he remembered correctly, the Boy Scout was one of the only ones who had voiced his opposition in the first place. Good thing Clark didn't know about her _other_ activities that night.

_It probably had more to do with Clark's inability to comprehend that 'saving the world' was __**not**__ just a one-man job._ Oliver just didn't like the man. Plus, he wasn't up for another lecture from the Boy-Wonder about how much _danger_ he was always putting Chloe in.

Please. _He_ wasn't the one whose powers Zod and Tess were after.

Clark's cell phone rang. The man picked it up and winced at the name that flashed across the screen. "It's Lois."


End file.
